


a rock and a hard place

by totallyunrelated



Series: awkward conversations with aang and zuko [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, talking about boners, the saga continues, zuko and aang adopt each other, zuko is really good at giving advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25726834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyunrelated/pseuds/totallyunrelated
Summary: Aang is acting weird and Zuko takes it upon himself to find out why. He does not expect what comes next.(Spoiler alert: boner.)
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: awkward conversations with aang and zuko [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864663
Comments: 13
Kudos: 237





	a rock and a hard place

“What’s up with Twinkletoes?” Toph’s gruff voice pulled Zuko out of his thoughts. She plopped herself down beside him, sprawling on the ground, eyes staring sightlessly up at the sky. He frowned and looked over at Aang, who looked like he was trying to impersonate a very ripe tomato.

Zuko just shrugged, because how should _he_ know? Toph huffed impatiently, rolling her eyes like there was something he just wasn’t getting. “He’s acting really strange,” she said abruptly. “Like, stranger than normal. His heart keeps beating really erratically, but as far as I can tell he isn’t lying or in danger. It’s really weird.” He could detect a bit of concern in her voice beneath all the bravado.

“Are you sure it’s not just because of who he’s talking to?” asked Zuko, looking over at Aang and Katara. At this point pretty much everyone except for the two of them knew about their massive crushes on each other. On one hand, Zuko just wanted the two of them to stop dancing around each other and get together already, but on the other hand they were way too young for that sort of thing. Though all of the others, even Sokka, had voted for the former, likely because they just could not stand the tension anymore.

Toph frowned. “This is different,” she said carefully, cocking her head like she was listening to something. “He’s always been jumpy around her, sure, but...I don’t know, I can’t explain it. It’s just different.”

Yes, Aang _was_ behaving rather oddly, thought Zuko, observing the two of them. His body was partially turned away from Katara, who was pacing and gesturing, and he was practically hunched over, like he was trying to hide something. “You’re worried about him,” he said.

Toph flushed. “What? Me? No way,” she scoffed. “It’s just annoying. Yeah. That’s it. I’m not worried.” She shot him a scathing glare and stomped away, though he saw through her bluffing. He laughed quietly to himself.

“I’ll talk to him,” he called after her, only receiving a dismissive wave in return. Still, he got the feeling that that was what she had been looking for all along.

Opportunity came when firebending practice rolled around. Zuko and Aang set off in search of a secluded place where they could practice without hurting anyone, but not far enough that they wouldn’t hear signs of trouble if it happened. Aang threw himself into the training, sweat beading on his brow as they worked through the forms, though that could just be due to the heat of their fire. Even so, even without Toph’s admission that morning, Zuko could tell that something was bothering him, and he was worried, though he told himself that was only because they couldn’t have the Avatar feeling off-kilter days before he was supposed to fight the Fire Lord. It was Zuko’s duty to make sure he was prepared, and apparently that included emotionally as well. He was fully prepared to assuage Aang’s doubts about whether he was ready, how he could defeat the Fire Lord - anything but what actually came.

“So, Aang,” Zuko said casually as they sat under a tree, taking a break. “Is there anything you want to talk about?” He grimaced internally at his lack of social skills. Years isolated in the palace with no real friends and then three years of exile could do that to you.

Aang gave him a strange look. “Um. Not really, no,” he said, sounding a little amused. “Is there anything _you_ want to talk to _me_ about?”

Zuko winced. Well, nothing for it, then. Time to go straight for the jugular. Not that he knew any way other than that. “You’ve seemed a little stressed lately,” he said bluntly. “Toph said your heartbeat is really irregular. Is everything alright?”

He was expecting a sigh of defeat. Maybe an admission about how he was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders and didn’t know how he could possibly win this fight. What he was _not_ expecting was Aang blushing fire-truck red and immediately leaping to his feet, spluttering. “Nope! No, everything is fine, yes, just dandy, I’m fine, you’re fine, everything is fine, why do you ask? I’m fine!” His voice was an octave higher than usual. Zuko raised an eyebrow. Clearly, this issue was more serious than he thought. And while Zuko was certainly not the best person to help him work through emotional issues, he could at least try. 

“Everything doesn’t seem fine,” he said doubtfully. “If you tell me what’s bothering you, maybe I can help. I mean, he is my father, after all. Maybe I have something that can help you.” He meant it in a placating way, but instead Aang turned even redder.

“What? Uh, oh, yeah, Ozai! Right, that’s what you were talking about - I mean, I _knew_ that’s what you were talking about, heh, yeah, uhhh…” Avoiding Zuko’s pointed stare, he trailed off, whistling an off-key tune.

“What were _you_ talking about, then?” Not to be dissuaded, Zuko ignored the horrible whistling. Really, weren’t airbenders supposed to be _good_ at that? Apparently not.

“Nothing! It’s nothing, don’t worry, I’m fine, it’s fine -”

“Just tell me what’s got your robes in a twist,” interrupted Zuko with a sigh.

Apparently coming to the conclusion that this wasn’t a conversation he could avoid, Aang stopped pacing and sat back down, though he did it so that Zuko couldn’t see his face. He let out a long breath, then said, very quickly, “I can’t be around Katara because _myyou-know-whatkeepsgettinghardwheneverI’maroundher!_ Okay, you happy now?”

Zuko blinked. Then he blinked again. Then he started regretting ever wanting to help this child. As much as he’d tried to coax the answer out of Aang before, now he was very much wishing that the boy had kept it to himself.

“Are you laughing at me? I know you’re laughing at me. It’s your fault! I didn’t want to say it! Just say something, Zuko!”

Zuko let out a beleaguered sigh. He had come prepared for _everything but this._ Had not even considered a scenario where _this_ would have happened, but evidently, going by the _last_ two conversations, he should really have expected it. Why did it suddenly seem like he was the go-to for uncomfortable conversations? Maybe he should have become a therapist instead.

“It’s normal,” he offered.

Aang shot up and started to pace again. “I don’t care that it’s normal! I just want it to go away, because what if she sees? Then she’ll be really mad at me, and then she’ll hate me, and then -”

“ _Aang,”_ said Zuko. “She’s not going to hate you. Sure, it might be embarrassing, but you’ll both get over it, and everything will be fine.”

Aang groaned and slid down to the ground in despair. “Why is this happening to me?” he asked pitifully. “I’ve tried to control it, but I can’t, and now I’m doomed if I spend time with her and doomed if I don’t.”

“It’s a normal reaction,” Zuko said past the embarrassment threatening to choke him, because if you had told him three years prior that he would be sat here now talking to the _Avatar,_ of all people, about boners, he would have promptly laughed in your face and challenged you to an Agni Kai for good measure. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re growing up, your body’s changing, things like this happen. Trust me, I’ve been there before.” He winced, the memory of running away from Mai through the palace hallways coming to him unbidden. As always the thought of her sends a spear through his heart and he pushed it away, heart throbbing.

“You have? Then how do I get rid of it?”

“Think about something else, like being cold, or something sad. Or you could always dunk yourself in cold water. That always does the trick.” Even though this is a Very Uncomfortable Conversation, Zuko finds it oddly...fun. The way Aang listens to him, enraptured, hanging on to his every word, makes him feel like he’s worth something. Like he’s actually needed. Which is quite a novel feeling, because pretty much ever since he was born he was treated like a failure, a disgrace by his father, and even the amount of love his mother and uncle had for him could never make up for it. This, sitting with Aang and talking to him, imparting his wisdom as Uncle would say, feels a lot like how his relationship with Azula could have turned out. He ignores another stab of pain at the thought of his sister.

Aang nodded thoughtfully. “Wow! Thanks, Zuko. You’re like the big brother I never had.” He gave Zuko a quick side hug, though Zuko was still too stunned at his words to do anything other than sit there like a statue. He stretched, then looked back at Zuko, the impact of his words hitting him. His expression turned stricken. “Wait, I mean...I’m sorry if I…”

“No,” Zuko said, cutting him off. “I’m honoured that you see me that way. I just hope I can live up to it.”

Aang’s expression softened, and he came closer to give Zuko a proper hug. He was almost a head shorter, but Zuko found that comforting. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy, wishing he could protect him but knowing he couldn’t. 

“But Zuko, you already have.”


End file.
